Embedded Computing Design

This stack light is made with six polycarbonate disks surrounding RGBW LED strips. It?s powered by an Arduino Nano, and receives input from an electret microphone, as well as four DIP switches.

Earlier this year, Ikalogic sent me one of their IkaScope handheld WiFi oscilloscopes to try out. For this mini review, I?ll list the device?s characteristics first, and give my thoughts after.

This September I had the pleasure of attending the World Maker Faire in New York, where a wide variety of people, robots, and equipment come together to show off what they do and have made.

When working with dev boards, such as those made by Arduino and the like, working with hobby style servos is quite straightforward.

While I won?t go into specifics, on average I?ve been able to make what I consider a reasonable living writing about technology as well as the occasional engineering/DIY project. The key is average.

As an engineer who graduated knowing how to use a mill and lathe, I?ve mostly viewed this technology as a curiosity with potential to be an amazing tool sometime far in the future.

I decided to make an 8-bit themed heart container from Zelda that people can switch on or off via Twitter.

Interestingly, the basics of router ?G-code? isn?t that complicated, simply telling your cutting head to move from one place to another. In fact, it?s possible?and very tedious?to write it by hand.

Inexpensive Bluetooth serial modules can accomplish serial control and feedback wirelessly, or even program it without a physical connection.

As I write this, the Fourth of July is coming up, a time when Americans are encouraged to light and observe pyrotechnic devices in abundance.

While you undoubtedly have some familiarity with computer vision, normally these systems come packaged as either an expensive industrial setup.

So you?ve been experimenting with the Raspberry Pi single-board computer for years, and you've finally come up with an application that others would be willing to pay for.

Machine vision has been around in practical terms since the early 1980s, with experiments in this technology dating back even earlier. In the beginning, even reading a single letter took many seconds.

If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, you were likely amazed when devices like the Nintendo Game Boy and Sega Game Gear came onto the scene, enabling you to play versions of Mario or Sonic on the go.

One thing I?ve enjoyed integrating into videos are physically panning shots, taken with a slider. My setup worked well, but the controls were extremely poor.

These devices cram up to a 1 GHz processor, ADC, Ethernet capabilities, and 1 GB of DDR2 RAM into an enclosure the size of a nickel.

This year, the Raspberry Pi Foundation has stepped its game up with the Pi Model B+.

When using an Arduino board, DC motors and hobby servos are relatively easy to control, but stepper motors require a bit more electronic fiddling to get working correctly.

When working with MCUs and the like, blinking lights and OLED outputs are fun, but to create something that actually moves, your first choice will normally be a DC motor.

While Arduino boards and the like can respond to serial inputs from a computer, to really take advantage of MCUs and their associated development boards, you need an array of sensors.